盡管面臨特朗普總統(tǒng)施壓，美聯(lián)儲于上周三再次將利率提高了25個基點，同時表明可能在2019年兩次加息。這是美聯(lián)儲三年內(nèi)第九次加息。對于有信用卡債務(wù)的消費者而言，屢次加息的影響將共同疊加在他們身上。

美聯(lián)儲通過調(diào)整聯(lián)邦基金利率來設(shè)定利率，因而影響銀行對客戶貸款收取的費率。盡管今年利率持續(xù)上調(diào)，消費者的信用卡債務(wù)仍在不斷增加。美聯(lián)儲表示，第三季度信用卡債務(wù)增加150億美元，達到8440億美元，至此信用卡債務(wù)已連續(xù)增長17個季度。

從那時起，即使股市暴跌，消費者也需要償還更多的信用卡債務(wù)。根據(jù)NerdWallet的調(diào)查，從2018年年初到現(xiàn)在，信用卡債務(wù)已經(jīng)增加了5％。有卡債的家庭平均每戶未清余額約為6929美元。

現(xiàn)在除了債務(wù)總額不斷增加，利率還水漲船高，美國人需要花更多錢還卡債。要多還多少？CompareCards網(wǎng)站計算出，僅僅提高25個基點就意味著消費者需要額外支付24億美元利息。

其他類型的消費債務(wù)也在增多，包括抵押貸款、學(xué)生貸款和汽車貸款等。有跡象表明，利率穩(wěn)步緩慢增加，已經(jīng)對一些消費者產(chǎn)生了負面影響。逾期90天以上的信用卡賬戶已經(jīng)增至所有未清繳賬戶的7.9％，高于兩年前的7％。汽車貸款拖欠率近年來也逐步上升。

“今天的加息意味著借貸的成本更高了，對于信用卡、房屋凈值信貸額度和可調(diào)利率抵押貸款的借款人而言更是如此?！苯鹑诰W(wǎng)站Bankrate的首席金融分析師格雷格·麥克布萊德表示?！跋M者應(yīng)該大幅清償債務(wù)，進行利率固定的金融融資，獲得零利率信用卡優(yōu)惠，以防止額外加息造成的影響，同時還應(yīng)提高還債速度?！?

如果說還能從美聯(lián)儲的新聞中看出一線或兩線希望，那就是人們存在金融市場賬戶或存款證里的錢或許能有更高利率。而且雖然美聯(lián)儲仍表示將在2019年再次加息，但它現(xiàn)在的計劃是加兩次而非三次。但這可能不足以消除部分消費者接下來幾個月打開信用卡賬單時感受到的刺痛。

美聯(lián)儲此舉也導(dǎo)致股市早早開始出現(xiàn)下跌，收盤價仍下跌。道瓊斯工業(yè)平均指數(shù)收報23323.66點，下跌1.5％。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Agatha

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point on last Wednesday, while signaling it could raise rates two more times in 2019, despite pressure from President Trump. This is increase marks the ninth time the Fed has raised rates in three years. And it’s all starting to add up for consumers with credit-card debt.

The Fed sets interest rates by adjusting the federal funds rate. That in turn influences the rates banks charge customers for loans. Even as rates have been rising this year, consumers are building up bigger balances on their credit cards. The Fed said that credit-card balances rose by $15 billion in the third quarter to $844 billion, the 17th straight quarter of rising debt.

Since then, consumers have more debt on their credit cards, even as the stock market tumbled. According to a survey by NerdWallet, credit-card balances have increased by 5% so far in 2018. The average outstanding balance for households with credit-card debt stood at around $6,929.

Now add to that growing pile of debt the trend of higher interest rates and you have U.S. households paying more for their credit-card loans. How much more? The website CompareCards calculated that the quarter-point increase alone will mean consumers are paying an additional $2.4 billion in interest payments.

Other types of consumer debt have also been rising: mortgages, student loans, and auto loans. And there are signs that the gradual but steady rise in rates are taking a toll on some consumers. Credit-card accounts that have been delinquent for more than 90 days have risen to 7.9% of all accounts with outstanding debt, up from 7% two years earlier. Auto loan delinquencies have been on a gradual rise for several years.

“Today’s rate hike means borrowing gets costlier, especially for credit-cards, home equity lines of credit, and borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at financial site Bankrate. “Consumers should aggressively pay down debt, refinance into fixed rates, and grab zero percent credit card offers to insulate against additional rate hikes and accelerate debt repayment.”

If there is a silver lining or two in Fed news, it’s that people saving money in money-market accounts or CDs may receive a higher rate. And, while the Fed is still indicating it will raise rates in 2019, it’s now planning on two rates instead of three. But that may not be enough to remove the sting some consumers will feel when they open their credit-card bills in the coming months.

The Fed’s move also caused stocks to give up early losses and close with losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.5% at 23,323.66.